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Dalit activist murdered in Tamil Nadu's Trichy district

He was allegedly killed for breaking a plastic tap in a farm

Eyewitnesses alleged attackers also hurled caste slurs at him

A Dalit man was found murdered in a farm, with his hands tied, in Manachanallur town of Trichy district in Tamil Nadu.The man, identified as Kathiresan, was allegedly killed by caste Hindu men for breaking a plastic tap in a farm on July 7. In caste hierarchy, caste Hindus are placed highe

A Dalit man was found murdered in a farm, with his hands tied, in Manachanallur town of Trichy district in Tamil Nadu.

The man, identified as Kathiresan, was allegedly killed by caste Hindu men for breaking a plastic tap in a farm on July 7. In caste hierarchy, caste Hindus are placed higher than Dalits but below upper-caste Hindus

Kathiresan was an auto driver and also a Dalit rights activist. A few days before the murder, Kathiresan had a tussle with Thangarasu when the latter alleged that he had broken the taps in his farm.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF MURDER

On July 7, Thangarusu found that the plastic taps in his farm were again broken. Along with his two sons, he barged into Kathiresan's house and allegedly threatened his family.

The three men were later accompanied by another dozen men and together they tracked down Kathiresan to a nearby shop. On finding Kathiresan, the group allegedly started attacking him. His wife tried to intervene but was reportedly attacked as well.

Kathiresan, the Dalit activist who was murdered in Trichy.

After beating him to unconsciousness, Thangarasu and his sons allegedly tied his hands and told Kathiresan's wife that they would take him to the Mannachanallur police station.

Kathiresan's wife and other family members waited at the police station but neither he nor Thangarasu and his sons came.

Later Kathiresan's wife Nandini filed a complaint with the police. According to police investigation, Thangarusu allegedly took Kathiresan to his farm and along with some others assaulted him and killed him by hitting his head with a boulder.

BODY FOUND, ANOTHER ANGLE EMERGES

The police found Kathiresan's body on July 8.

However, just when the police was about to conclude that Kathiresan was murdered due to personal enmity, some people approached them claiming to have evidence that shows that he was killed for marrying a caste Hindu woman.

It was alleged that Thangarasu and his relatives repeatedly hurled caste slurs at Kathiresan for marrying Nandini, a caste Hindu.

Even while beating him up near the local shop, Thangarasu allegedly told Kathiresan that he cannot become his equal by marrying a caste Hindu girl.

Based on the new evidence, Thanagarasu and his sons Bhaskar and Suresh were been booked under IPC Section 294 (b), 342, 506 (iii) and 302 and multiple sections of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Amendment Act.

In their statement to the police, Thanagarasu and his sons have confessed to their crime.